


We survived under crystal skies

by AndalusianSunshine



Category: Men's Football RPF
Genre: Anal Sex, Barebacking, Bickering, Friends to Lovers, Hiking, M/M, Porn With Plot, Sharing a Bed, Spanish National Team, Spit As Lube, Team Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:26:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22696297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndalusianSunshine/pseuds/AndalusianSunshine
Summary: A hiking trip in the Spanish countryside seems like the perfect occasion for some harmless fun and team building as the Spanish National Team prepares for their next major tournament, but for Sergio absolutely nothing goes according to plan.Instead of enjoying some quality time with his teammates, he spends all day fighting with Gerard and when they end up separated from their teammates and helplessly lost in the woods, things have to take a turn for the worse before they can finally get better.
Relationships: Gerard Piqué/Sergio Ramos
Comments: 9
Kudos: 111





	We survived under crystal skies

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from _The Runners_ by The Naked and Famous

“Maybe you should have just kept your mouth shut, have you ever thought about that?” Sergio snaps, anger boiling inside of him. In the corner of his eye a squirrel is climbing up a tree, the leaves are rustling quietly above them and it would all be very beautiful and enjoyable if Gerard wasn’t so damn stubborn and annoying. All he wanted was to spend a nice, relaxing day outside in nature, hanging out and bonding with his teammates, enjoying the fresh air, but instead he’s done nothing but argue with Gerard all morning, even now that they’re taking a break for lunch, he’s still stuck with him.

He shifts on the log he’s been using as a chair, now even more annoyed then before, throwing a wistful look over to their teammates who are currently gathered around a large bonfire, the smell of food wavering tantalizingly over towards him.

“I’m not gonna keep my opinions to myself just because they might hurt someone’s feelings,” Gerard’s angry voice pulls him out of his thoughts again, making his irritation grow.

Sergio groans. “Have you ever thought about what this might be doing to the team?”

“Are you two finally done arguing?” Jordi suddenly appears in front of them, glaring at them with his hands resting on his hips. 

“No,” they both answer at the same time.

“Oh wow,” Jordi laughs sardonically. “You can actually agree on something. Who would have thought.”

“Funny,” Sergio grumbles and God it really shouldn’t be possible to be in such a bad mood on a nice day like this.

“Anyway,” Jordi eyes them wearily. “I’m gonna go back over to the others. Come join us when you’re done with whatever it is your doing.”

Sergio nods, but half an hour later they’re still going in circles around the same damn argument, his food is cold, the damn log is digging painfully into his thigh and he feels completely drained of energy. “Are you ever going to change your mind?” he asks tiredly.

“No,” Gerard cocks his head to the side. “Are you?”

“No.”

“Didn’t think so,” Gerard sighs. “You wanna call a truce?”

“Why not,” Sergio agrees. “Let’s just not talk about it anymore.”

Gerard nods. “Probably best. Wanna go over to the others?”

“We probably should. You’ve been hogging all my time so far,” Sergio grins but the laughter gets stuck in his throat when he looks up and finds the clearing empty. “Where is everyone?”

“What are you talking about?” Gerard asks, his gaze following Sergio’s, mouth falling open when he realizes everyone is gone. “Did those assholes actually leave us behind?”

“Looks like it,” Sergio shrugs. “You think we can still catch up to them? Can’t have been long since they left.”

“Do you have the map?” 

“What map?” Sergio frowns. “Who even uses maps anymore?” he fumbles for his phone, already typing in their destination, when - “Fuck.”

“What?”

“I’ve got no fucking reception up here,” Sergio groans.

Gerard chuckles. “Now you know why people use maps.”

“Oh, shut up,” Sergio grumbles, almost losing his balance when he leans back, realizing a fraction too late that there’s no backrest. He silently curses the stupid log. “What are we gonna do now? Should we just go back?” he suggests, but they’ve been hiking all morning and there’s no way he remembers even a fraction of the way they took.

“I think we should just try to catch up to them,” Gerard reaches for his backpack, stashing the leftover food and two bottles of water inside. “They wanted to go up the hill. There can’t be that many paths.”

“Fine with me,” Sergio nods, heaving himself to his feet and it’s not like he’s ever going to admit to it, but he’ll gladly let take Gerard the lead on this one. Nothing about his day has gone according to plan so far, he’s tired and cranky and if Gerard gets them lost, at least it’s not going to be his fault.

“Let’s go then.”

They’ve barely left the camp behind when they come across a fork in the road, two paths leading in opposite directions, the group of trees in the middle strangely familiar to Sergio and suddenly he doesn’t feel so helpless anymore. “I know this place from the map,” he declares proudly, an idea already forming in his mind.

“I thought only idiots use maps,” Gerard chuckles next to him and no Sergio definitely doesn’t have the urge to punch him.

“Will you just let it go with the maps,” Sergio rolls his eyes, but he can’t suppress a smile.

“Never,” Gerard grins back and it feels kind of nice to not be fighting for once. “So what about the map now?”

“I think this path was marked on the map as our route,” Sergio gestures towards the right side. “And it makes this sharp turn in a few kilometers,” he makes another few vague gestures with his arms, ignores the amused smirk on Gerard’s face. “So if we just go through here, we could cut across and maybe even catch up to them.”

“You wanna go straight through the trees?” Gerard asks incredulously. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Yeah, why not?” Sergio frowns. “The trees aren’t too close together and it really isn’t that far.”

“If you say so,” Gerard still doesn’t look convinced, but still trails after Sergio when he steps off the path.

*

“Shouldn’t we have found the other path already?” Gerard asks.

“Just give it some time. We should be almost there,” Sergio answers, but he’s started wondering too. They’ve been walking for three hours already. It hadn’t looked this far on the map.

“This was a bad idea,” Gerard remarks from behind him. “What if we’re lost?”

“We’re not lost,” Sergio groans and wonders if anyone would notice if he just tied Gerard to a tree and left him there. “You should have just said something before, complaining now is not gonna help anyone.”

“Maybe we should start carving marks into the trees, so we can make sure we’re not going in circles,” Gerard says, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Sergio swivels around, angrily glaring at Gerard. “Don’t you ever have anything helpful to say?” he snaps and because he’s not watching where he’s going, he doesn’t notice the tree root sticking out of the ground until it’s already too late.

He desperately tries to keep his balance, arms flailing and body twisting and he knows he probably looks ridiculous, but his right foot is stuck, his left foot is slowly losing grip and then he lands on the hard forest floor with a dull thud. 

There’s a damp leaf stuck to his face, his palms are burning from where he scraped them on the ground while trying to soften his fall, small rocks stuck in his skin, his ankle is throbbing painfully and he’s sure his cheeks are flaming red from embarrassment.

“Are you alright?” Gerard asks, standing over him with concern in his eyes.

“I’m fine,” Sergio grumbles and scrambles to his feet, but really he’s anything but. There’s pain shooting up and down his leg and he can barely put weight on his foot without screaming out in agony.

“You sure?” Gerard looks unconvinced. “You want me to take a look at it?”

“No, let’s just keep going,” Sergio snaps, teething sinking into his bottom lip so he won’t cry out as he stomps forward. Gerard mumbles something unintelligible behind him, but he’s too focused on not falling over to listen and he doesn’t care anyway. It can’t be much longer until they finally come across that damn path and will finally be reunited with their teammates.

*

It’s been exactly fifty-seven minutes since he fell and he knows this because he’s spent most of those fifty-seven minutes staring at his watch, praying for the pain in his ankle to subside and trying to quench the rising panic that Gerard was right after all and that they’re helplessly lost. A small part of him is still refusing to believe any of it, but they’ve been walking for hours and if anything they’re even deeper into the forest than before, the trees closer together, the ground softer and the sun slowly starting it’s descent. They must have walked several kilometers by now, even with his foot slowing them down and it definitely didn’t look this far on the map.

“Sergio,” there’s suddenly a warm palm on his shoulder, halting him midstep and Gerard’s soft touch almost breaks him, tears of exhaustion and pain prickling in the corners of his eyes. “Let’s take a break,” Gerard says gently, like he’s talking to a spooked animal. “I’m tired.”

Sergio nods, even though he knows it’s nothing but a lame excuse, constructed to get Sergio to sit down, but he’s too tired to put up a fight. He hadn’t even realized how hard he was breathing until he sinks down on a broken-off tree stump. 

Gerard rummages around in his backpack and hands Sergio one of the water bottles. 

“Thanks,” Sergio smiles gratefully, taking a few long pulls from the bottle and the cold liquid feels like heaving sliding down his dry throat. He leans back and closes his eyes, listening to the birds chirp and the leaves rustle in the wind and for a long time they just sit there in silence.

“How are you holding up?” Gerard asks eventually, studying him through narrowed eyes.

“I’m good,” he says curtly, irrationally irritated by the worry in Gerard’s voice. He hates nothing more than being pitied.

“God, can you stop being stubborn for five minutes” Gerard groans exasperatedly. “We all know you’re tough and whatever, but can you just this once not pretend you’re stronger than everyone else and tell me the fucking truth?”

Sergio shrugs. “What do you want me to say?” He makes a helpless gesture with his hands. “That it hurts like hell, that i can barely put weight on my foot without screaming in pain. How is that gonna help us any to get out of here?”

“I don’t know,” Gerard sighs. “But i could at least help you try not to make it worse. Do you think it’s broken?”

“No idea,” Sergio flexes his foot experimentally, grimaces when pain shoots all the way up to his hip. “All i know is that it hurts like hell every time i try to move it.”

Gerard hums thoughtfully. “Is your phone still not working?”

Sergio shakes his head. “There’s no reception anywhere. I checked about 500 times already.”

“Shit,” Gerard frowns. “Do you think you can walk for a little longer?”

“Sure,” Sergio nods. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s had to push through pain and it’s not like he really has a choice anyway. “You wanna turn around and go back?”

“Yes” Gerard fiddles with the cap of his bottle and Sergio can’t help but think that he looks uncertain. “I think it’s our best option. Even if we get lost again we know there are at least two paths near and they’re gonna start their search close to the camp.”

“I agree.”

“That was easy,” Gerard’s chuckle sounds surprisingly close, startling Sergio.

“What are you doing?” he asks, looking up into Gerard’s piercing blue eyes.

“Helping you up,” Gerard explains, his arm already sliding around Sergio’s back until he’s got a firm grip under his arm, heaving him to his feet.

Sergio grunts at the sudden movement, his hand instinctively searching for purchase on Gerard’s shoulder. “This is never gonna work,” he complains, but even just standing up already feels so much better than before.

“Just put your weight on me instead of your foot.”

“It’s gonna take us forever to get back like this.”

Sergio feels Gerard shrugs, feels his hand tighten around his ribcage. “Still better than you not being able to walk eventually. Now, come on.”

Sergio takes a first tentative step forward, wobbling precariously when Gerard fails to react and trails behind but eventually they fall into an easy rhythm, the stride of their steps matching up almost automatically as they turn to follow their foot prints to where they came from.

*

“I think we got lost again.”

“Huh?” Sergio looks up, eyes bleary. He’s spent most of the last hour staring at the ground, focusing most of his energy to will one foot in front of the other, but every move is getting harder, exhaustion creeping into every crevice of his body and it’s only through pure stubbornness and Gerard’s help that he’s even still standing, but he’s starting to feel the same exhaustion radiating off of Gerard’s body and he knows they won’t be able to keep going like this for much longer.

“Pretty sure this wasn’t there before,” Gerard’s laughing, but it sounds hysterical to Sergio’s ears. His gaze follows Gerard’s outstretched arm and he quickly understands, but personally he feels more like crying at the sight and he’s not sure if it’s the exhaustion or the overwhelming feeling of defeat that’s suddenly sweeping through his body, but suddenly he feels lightheaded, his legs give out from under him without any waring and if it wasn’t for Gerard’s quick reaction he would have ended up on the ground once again. As it is he finds himself in Gerard’s embrace, held up by two strong arms and he’d feel embarrassed for being in such a vulnerable position if he wasn’t so damn grateful.

“Thanks,” he whispers and suddenly the concern in Gerard’s eyes doesn’t seem so bad anymore. It makes a strange warmth crawl all over his skin. Shaking off the odd feeling, he turns his head to the side, following Gerard’s gaze again and it does seem like a cruel joke, the crystal blue creek cutting off their path. 

“What are we gonna do now?” he asks, his arm sliding down to Gerard’s hip, his head resting on Gerard’s shoulder and he’s beyond caring about how this might look. All he knows is that if he sits down, he won’t be able to get up again for a while and Gerard is leaning almost as much on him, his muscles trembling for the extra strain of having had to keep Sergio upright all this time. “Should we go back?”

“We’d have to go all the way back to that little clearing,” Gerard sighs and Sergio doesn’t think he’s ever heard him sound this tired. “I’m not sure i have the energy to go on much longer,” he shifts Sergio in his arms, trying to put him into a more comfortable position, but when he can’t seem to manage, he lets out an annoyed grunt. “Can you stand on your own for a minute?”

“Yeah, sure. Sorry,” Sergio disentangles himself from Gerard’s hold, leaning against the nearest treetrunk instead, wrapping his arms tightly around himself. With Gerard’s steady presence gone, he suddenly feels the cold seep into every pore of his body. “So you wanna try to cross instead?” he asks, critically eyeying the small stream and it seems just narrow enough to cross with one big step, even if the banks on both sides are steep and covered in small rocks.

“Yeah,” Gerard nods. He’s leaning against a tree opposite Sergio’s, his expression weary. “It should be doable and this might finally be the right direction. Do you remember a creek or something from the map?”

Sergio frowns, trying to dig through the jumbled memories in his mind, but it seems so long ago that they’ve sat in the camp with their teammates, arguing about something that suddenly seems beyond insignificant and he thinks there might have been a body of water near the right path, but he’s too exhausted to be sure of anything anymore. “Could be,” he offers weakly. “But i don’t really remember.”

Gerard shrugs. “Let’s do it then. What do we have to lose?”

Sergio nods.

Gerard is the first to cross the stream and it looks easy enough, a large step, a little hop and then he’s already on the other side, a triumphant grin on his face as he digs his feet into the stone bank, searching for better footing.

It’s not nearly as easy for Sergio. His foot is even more tender than before, throbbing angrily every time he settles even just a little weight on it and the stones are slippery under the smooth soles of his sneakers, but eventually he manages to get down the steep slope with only a few scrapes on his palms.

He straightens up slowly, careful not to lose his balance, only daring to look up when his footing is secure. He frowns at Gerard’s outstretched hand and he knows it would be the sensible thing to take it and accept the help, but he’s been relying on Gerard all day and he’s tired of it, tired of depending on anyone and even more tired of the guilt gnawing at him, because Gerard looks worn out and exhausted beyond measure and he knows it’s all because of him, so he ignores the outstretched hand, takes a deep breath and steps forward. 

It’s not even a stretch to get his foot on the other side of the stream, his muscles barely noticing the strain and it all goes well until he lifts his healthy foot into the air.

Excruciating pain shoots up his right leg, his injured ankle screaming out in pure agony under the full weight of his body and then it just gives out.

He lands in the stream with a soft splash, his thin clothes not putting up much of a barrier against the cold water and by the time he finally crawls onto the stony shore he’s completely soaked through.

For a few short moments he just sits there, dripping wet and laughing hysterically, because after everything that’s happened today, what else could he possibly do?

Gerard is looking down at him with mirth sparkling in his eyes. “I hope your pride was worth it.”

“Fuck you,” Sergio grumbles, but there’s no venom behind the insult. This time he accepts Gerard’s helping hand, lets himself be pulled to his feet without protest.

“You’re an idiot,” Gerard scolds warmly, but his eyes are filled with honest concern. “We need to get you somewhere warm fast.”

“It’s not that bad,” Sergio shrugs, but he’s already starting to shiver.

Gerard shakes his head. “You’re dripping wet and the sun is gonna set soon. We need to get you dry before you catch hypothermia.”

“You’re being overdramatic,” Sergio rolls his eyes, but the worry in Gerard’s eyes is starting to make him feel anxious too, so he slowly hobbles after Gerard, his sneakers squelching with every step.

*  
_One hour later…_

Gerard stops so abruptly, Sergio almost bumps into his back. “What’s going on,” he asks, a violent shiver running through him. His wet clothes are sticking uncomfortably to his skin, the fabric heavy and damp and now with the sun almost set, it’s suddenly freezing cold.

“Look,” Gerard points somewhere into the distance and the set of his shoulders already looks less tense, less worried than it did for most of their walk since Sergio tumbled into the creek.

Sergio takes a curious peak around Gerard, sucking in a surprised breath when his gaze lands on a small wooden cabin, nestled between a small gathering of trees only a few meters in front of them. “Do you think someone is in there?” Sergio asks, the sudden vision of a warm room and soft towels more than tantalizing.

“I don’t know,” Gerard shrugs. “Doesn’t look like it, but we can still spend the night there, get you dry and rest a bit and then we can try to find our way back tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” Sergio hums disappointedly. There’s no visible light on in the small house and on closer inspection it does look a little run-down, like no one has been staying there for quite a while.

“Let’s see if we can get inside,” Gerard is already hurrying down the path, rattling at the doorhandle with little success.

Sergio rolls his eyes and bends down to the one flower pot standing on the little porch, ignores the pain in his ankle at the unwanted movement and lifts it up just enough to spot the silver sparkle underneath it. 

He picks it up with a triumphant sound, hands it to Gerard with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

“Thanks,” Gerard takes the key with a simple nod of his head, not looking up, not even flinching as he unlocks the door. There’s no quip, no comeback, not even an insult and Sergio has never been more aware of how exhausted Gerard must be.

The door creaks open softly and they both spend a few moments just lingering in the door and taking in the scene in front of them. The cabin is nothing fancy, just one sparsely furnished room, a couple of chairs and a table in one corner, a wooden bench in the other, a few pillows and a thin blanket spread out across it. There’s a bare lightbulb hanging from the ceiling, no heaters in sight and Sergio notices with some dismay that the small fireplace on the far wall is boarded shut. The only visible sign of comfort is the big fluffy rug on the floor, but like everything else in the room, it’s covered in a thin layer of dust.

“This should do,” Gerard doesn’t sound particularly pleased as he steps around Sergio and into the room, eyeing the fireplace regretfully. 

Sergio sinks onto one of the chairs, a deep sigh of relief spilling out of him at finally getting the pressure of his foot. He leans down to untie his sneakers, eyeing Gerard out of the corner of his eyes as he walks over to the huge cupboard taking up almost an entire wall. “Are there any towels in there?”

Gerard shakes his head ruefully. “No blankets either. There’s just a few tools in here, nothing that’s gonna help us,” he bangs the closet shut with a little more force than necessary, his frustration more than obvious in the gesture. 

Sergio smiles softly and focuses his attention back on trying to get his shoe off his swollen foot. The sudden pain flaring through him every time he jostles his ankle a little too forcefully temporarily maskes how frozen he feels, but when he finally has his shoes off, leaning back in the chair and trying to catch his breath, he can’t stop the shivers wrecking through his body.

Gerard watches him quietly, a thoughtful look on his face. “You need to get out of your wet clothes,” he says eventually and Sergio would protest but he can barely stop trembling even with his arms wrapped tight around his body and it’s only getting worse now that he’s slowly starting to relax, the full extend of his exhaustion sweeping through him relentlessly.

He nods obediently and heaves himself to his feet, almost wishes Gerard would tease him for following his suggestions without protest, just so the whole situation wouldn’t feel so fucking dire.

He strips quickly, letting his clothes pool in a messy, soggy heap on the floor and it feels nice to finally get the heavy, wet garments off his body, but he still feels frozen to the core, the chilly air in the room uncomfortably cold on his damp skin.

There are goosebumps all over his skin when he’s finally left in nothing but his underwear, awkwardly standing in the middle of the room.

“All of it,” Gerard narrows his eyes disapprovingly. “I know you got completely soaked through. You can’t keep sitting around in wet clothes. You’re gonna catch pneumonia or something.”

Sergio doesn’t have the energy to protest, so he turns his back towards Gerard, feeling strangely shy and vulnerable as he hooks his fingers in the waistband of his underwear and pushes them down his thighs. 

He makes a grab for the blanket as soon as he’s stepped out of the wet fabric, wrapping it tightly around himself and for the first time that night it feels like he might actually be able to get warm again, but as he looks up there’s that damn thoughtful look in Gerard’s eyes again and all day it had meant nothing but trouble for Sergio. “Now what?” he snaps before Gerard can even open his mouth.

Gerard sighs. “We’re gonna need that blanket to sleep later. It’s the only one we’ve got,” he at least has the decency to look contrite, but Sergio still feels irritation prickle inside of him.

“So, what? You just expect me to sit around naked?” he asks defiantly, wrapping the blanket even tighter around himself.

“Of course not,” Gerard shakes his head tiredly and Sergio frowns in confusion when Gerard moves to pull his hoodie over his head.

“What are you doing?”

“Here, put this on,” Gerard thrusts the hoodie at Sergio and the thick bundle of fabric proves way too much of a temptation for Sergio to put up much resistance.

“Thanks,” he smiles gratefully, already rushing to untangle himself from the blanket and pull the sweater over his head, a content sigh escaping him when he tugs his frozen fingers into the overly long sleeves and the hoodie is way too big on him, reaching almost to the middle of his thighs and he’s sure he looks absolutely ridiculous, but it’s soft and still warm from Gerard’s skin and he really couldn’t care any less. 

Gerard chuckles tiredly. “You look like you’re wearing a dress.”

Sergio snorts. “It’s not my fault you always buy your clothes 200 sizes too big. You’re not that much taller then me,” and he’s trying to look threatening but the effect is wholly ruined by his stomach grumbling loudly.

“Fair enough,” Gerard laughs. “You want something to eat?”

“You’ve got food?” Sergio settles on the bench, tucking his feet under his legs and the hem of the hoodie over his knees. He rubs gently at his ankle, carefully pressing his fingers into the sore spots.

“Yeah, i packed up the leftovers from earlier.” 

“The first sensible decision you’ve ever made in your life,” Sergio grins.

“Watch it or i’ll eat everything myself,” Gerard teases but he’s already handing Sergio one of the sandwiches, settling in on the bench next to him.

They eat in silence, both too hungry to take their time and with every bite Sergio feels some energy, a little bit of warmth return to his body, turning the sharp pain in his ankle into a dull throb and slowly lulling him to sleep.

“Let me look at your ankle,” Gerard startles him out of his little nap and when he reluctantly blinks his eyes open, Gerard is already sliding off the bench and crouching down in front of him.

“What are you doing?” he mumbles drowsily, instinctively fighting back when Gerard starts tugging on his foot.

“I wanna see how bad it is, so stop resisting.”

“Ugh, fine, but don’t make it any worse” Sergio relents, letting Gerard pull his foot up off the floor and settle it on his thigh, but with his leg raised like that, his hoodie is sliding up precariously, not leaving much to cover him and he suddenly feels exposed. He shoves the fabric down with his hands, keeping them between his legs to preserve at least some of his modesty. “No peaking,” he croaks, feeling a blush rise to his cheeks. 

Gerard rolls his eyes at him. “You do know i’ve seen you naked about a thousand times?” He answers, not looking up from Sergio’s ankle. “If i want to look at your dick, i don’t have to try to look up your dress.”

“It’s not a dress,” Sergio huffs petulantly.

“Whatever you need to tell yourself,” Gerard laughs. “Now be quiet and let me focus.”

“As if you have any idea what you’re doing,” Sergio quips, hissing in pain when Gerard presses his thumb into a particularly sore spot. “Ouch.”

“Sorry,” Gerard looks up apologetically. “Can you just stop squirming please?”

Sergio nods. “Be careful,” he says shakily and he had all but forgotten about the injury while they were eating, but now that he’s focussing on it again, it feels almost worse then before, throbbing and pulsing angrily, sharp pain prickling through his leg every time Gerard twists the joint a little too forcefully. He grits his teeth and closes his eyes, trying to swallow the pained groans as best as he can while Gerard examines him.

He sighs in relief when Gerard finally lets go, carefully settling his foot on the floor as he sits back on his haunches. “And?”

Gerard rubs his beard tiredly. “I don’t think anything’s broken, but you definitely need to get it looked at soon. It’s pretty swollen and bruised.”

“I figured,” Sergio shrugs. “Is there a first aid kit or something? So we can at least stabilize it?” he asks, hoping they’ll have something to bandage his ankle, take some of the pressure off, alleviate the dull pain still throbbing through it.

“Sadly not,” Gerard scrambles to his feet and starts gathering the pillows off of the bench. “Do you think you can sleep through the pain?” 

“It’s not like i have a choice,” Sergio sighs tiredly, his gaze following Gerard as he drops the pillows on the rug and starts spreading them out evenly. “I didn’t know we were building a pillow fort,” he grins.

Gerard throws a pillow at him.

It bounces off of Sergio’s chest and lands in his lap. 

“Feel free to sleep on the bench instead, but i’m taking the blanket,” Gerard grins.

“Not a chance in hell,” Sergio smiles, barely able to stifle a yawn.

“Get down here then,” Gerard sits on the floor and pats the space next to him. “And bring that pillow.”

It takes considerable effort to heave himself off the bench, his foot screaming out in pain long before he’s put any pressure on it and by the time he finally manages to hop the few steps towards their make-shift bed he feels completely drained of energy. 

“Fuck,” he curses and he’s too tired to pretend anymore, to suppress the pained groan as he gracelessly lets himself sink onto the fluffy carpet and he doesn’t resist when Gerard takes the pillow from his hands and stuffs it under his foot, carefully adjusting it so Sergio’s ankle will stay raised throughout the night. He just leans back in the pillows and lets Gerard spread the blanket over both of them before he settles in next to him, deliberately leaving a few inches of space between them.

Outside the sun has finally set completely, dipping the inside of the cabin in almost completely darkness and it’s so quiet Sergio can hear every shift, every nuance in Gerard’s breathing and it feels strangely intimate, lying next to each other like this.

“Good night,” Gerard whispers and there’s a softness to his voice that Sergio has never heard before.

“Good night,” he mumbles in reply and it takes every ounce of his willpower not to lean into the warmth that’s radiating off of Gerard’s body, not to crawl into his arm and beg him to chase away the cold that’s still prickling just below his skin. He rolls onto his side instead, facing away from Gerard, careful not to jostle his ankle too much as he snuggles deeper into their make-shift bed.

For a long time he just stares at the wall, listening to the sounds of the forest and willing his body to relax, but it’s almost like he’s too exhausted, too wound up to fall asleep. He shifts again, furtively, Gerard’s breathing next to him is already evening out and he’d be damn if he keeps him awake too. At least one of them deserves some sleep and Gerard was nothing but helpful the whole day even after the harsh words they exchanged earlier. 

He tugs the blanket up to his chin, the thin fabric surprisingly cozy, the fluffy rug very effectively absorbing the cold from the ground, but even with Gerard’s hoodie wrapped tight around him, he can’t seem to keep his teeth from chattering, can’t stop the shivers wrecking his body.

“You’re still cold aren’t you?”

A shiver of a very different kind runs through Sergio when Gerard’s hand lands tentatively on his hip, the simple touch sending a surge of heat flaring through his body.

“Yeah,” he admits hesitantly and feels very uncertain about the sudden intimacy between them.

“Come here then,” Gerard whispers and tugs on Sergio’s hips but it’s him who shifts closer, the blanket rustling softly as he crowds into Sergio’s space, his chest pressing against his back, an arm carefully slung across his hip and lying haphazardly across his stomach and Sergio is helpless to resist, the heat radiating off of Gerard far too tempting.

“Is this ok?” Gerard asks softly and he’s so close that Sergio can feel his breath on the back of his neck.

Sergio only nods, not trusting himself to speak and his mind is screaming at him that this is a terrible idea, that nothing good will ever come of it and he feels too vulnerable, too exposed lying in Gerard’s arms like this, but how could he possible bring himself to refuse when it feels this good to finally have his skin tingle with warmth again. “Thank you,” he finally manages to force out, so quiet he’s not even sure Gerard heard, but the answer comes only a heartbeat later, equally as quiet as Sergio’s.

“Don’t mention it,” he murmurs and Sergio is infinitely thankful that he’s not making a big deal out of it. He already feels unsettled enough, without Gerard turning whatever this is into a joke.

“Good night.”

“Good night,” Gerard returns and Sergio can almost hear the smile in his voice. He closes his eyes and he’s asleep before he can finish his next thought.

*

They must have shifted during the night, because when Sergio blinks his eyes open, Gerard’s face is right there in front of him, so close that their noses are almost touching, piercing blue eyes staring straight at him.

“I thought you’d never wake up,” Gerard grins and Sergio barely suppresses the urge to hit him.

“Leave me alone. I’ve had a shitty day yesterday,” Sergio grumbles drowsily, but Gerard only chuckles and his annoying grin is even more infuriating from up close.

“How’s your ankle?” he asks.

Sergio shrugs. It hadn’t bothered him during the night, but now that he’s awake and overly aware of it, the pain is back in full force, the dull throbbing just insistent enough that he can’t manage to push it to the back of his mind and he doesn’t need to check to know how badly swollen it is. “Still fucked up,” he answers tiredly.

Gerard frowns in concern. “You think you can walk on it for a bit? Try to get back to the camp?”

“What other choice do i have?” Sergio sighs.

“We can just wait here if you’re not up for it. I’m sure they’re already searching for us.”

“No,” Sergio shakes his head. “I’ll manage, but let’s just…,” Sergio pauses and takes a deep breath. It’s never been easy for him to admit weakness. “Let’s just stay here and rest for a bit longer.”

“Sure,” Gerard agrees and Sergio has to close his eyes against the understanding in Gerard’s gaze. He shifts gingerly, trying to get into a more comfortable position without jostling his injured ankle too much and i’s only then that he realizes that his hoodie must have slid up during the night, bunched up around his hip now, his morning erection pressing insistently against Gerard’s naked leg, the soft hairs on his thigh tickling him faintly.

“When did you take your pants off?” he asks dumbly and there is no way Gerard hasn’t noticed their position yet, hasn’t noticed how hard he is from just that simple contact. He feels a blush creep up his neck.

Gerard smiles sheepishly. “Some time last night. I got warm. You’re like a furnace.”

“Oh,” Sergio bites down on his bottom lip and his insides are so torn, because he knows the right thing to do would be to pull away and pretend like nothing ever happened, make this as easy as possible for both of them, but the baser parts of him really just want to rut against Gerard until he comes all over his thigh and he can’t shake the fear that he’s just going to make everything even more awkward if he jerks away now.

He’s still lost in thought when Gerard suddenly leans forward and Sergio feels a soft wetness against his lips, just the faintest of touches, gone so quickly that it takes Sergio a few agonizingly long moments to process, to realize that Gerard just kissed him. His heart starts pounding erratically in his chest.

“Do that again,” he demands and the commanding tone of his voice makes both of them shiver.

“What?” Gerard asks innocently, the faintest of smiles curling the corners of his mouth.

“Kiss me again,” Sergio repeats just as forcefully as before and God it’s ridiculous how much he’s suddenly longing for Gerard’s lips against his own, but he holds himself absolutely still, waiting for Gerard to make the next move.

“Are you sure?” Gerard teases with a grin and Sergio has to ball his fists to keep from dragging Gerard closer.

“Fuck you,” he huffs, but the sound turns into a soft gasp when Gerard lurches forward and covers his mouth with his own and the kiss is nothing like Sergio expected, it’s soft and gentle and unhurried and Sergio all but melts into Gerard, pressing even closer, a content sigh escaping him when Gerard’s hands slide under his hoodie to settle in the small of his back, just the faintest of touches, the edges of his fingers softly skimming the swell of his ass.

He parts his lips with a groan, allowing Gerard’s tongue to slip inside and he’s instantly addicted to the way Gerard kisses, so languid and unrushed and yet insistent in a way that has his knees go weak and every bit of tension seep out of his body and he knows without a doubt that he’d be content to just keep kissing like this forever, without it being a prelude to anything.

A pitiful whine escapes him when Gerard eventually does break the kiss and he doesn’t even bother to hide it, doesn’t care because all he really wants is to feel the warmth of Gerard’s lips against his own again.

Gerard chuckles. “Let’s get into a more comfortable position” he suggest, his voice a husky growl and Sergio notices with some satisfaction that Gerard seems just as affected by the kiss, his eyes already unfocused and glazed over. 

“Sounds good,” Sergio licks his lips and hooks his right leg between Gerard’s, rolls them over so Gerard end’s up on his back, Sergio now lying comfortably on top of him. “Like this?” he asks innocently, reveling in the surprised gasp that spills from Gerard’s lips.

“Exactly like this,” Gerard groans and threads his hands into Sergio’s hair, pulls him down into another kiss, this one more hungry, more passionate, now that their bodies are pressed together from head to toe without an inch in between, now that Sergio can feel Gerard’s erection throb against his thigh, hard and big and so perfect it has Sergio’s own dick leaking pre-cum, soaking the soft fabric of Gerard’s t-shirt.

He wriggles until Gerard finally takes pity on him, grabbing his ass and shifting him until their dicks finally align, only the thin fabric of Gerard’s underwear keeping them from rubbing against each other skin on skin.

“Fuck,” Sergio moans and it feels so so good, kissing nothing but an afterthought now, their swollen lips quivering against each other as they gasp for breaths. “Pull down your pants,” he  
pleads and it’s like every part of him is suddenly craving to feel Gerard against him without any barriers in between. He lifts his hips eagerly, only waiting long enough for Gerard to shove his underwear down to mid-thigh before he lets himself sink back down again, forcing a broken groan out of both of them.

There’s already enough pre-cum for them to slide against each other easily, the friction just the right kind of painful as they begin to rock against each other.

“Kiss me again,” Gerard looks up at him with hooded eyes and Sergio is already closing the distance between them before he’s finished the sentenced, swallowing his last breath greedily and he can’t get enough of the way Gerard tastes, of the way his full lips feel against his own. 

He loses himself in the languid slide of their tongues and the agonizingly slow rolls of their hips and it almost feels like he’s floating, a calming warmth spreading through him, chasing away the pain in his ankle and making him forget everything but how perfect Gerard feels underneath him. And a part of him just wants to go on like this until they both come apart, but there’s a clawing need inside him to feel Gerard even closer. 

He reaches for Gerard’s hand and lifts it to his lips, slowly taking two of his fingers into his mouth, closing his lips tightly as he swirls his tongue around them, making sure to get them nice and wet and God he loves how Gerard’s eyes darken when realization dawns on him, a needy groan escaping his parted lips.

He lets them go with a soft pop and a smirk on his lips, the challenge clear in his eyes as he meets Gerard’s gaze head on and Gerard doesn’t hesitate long, pulling Sergio into another kiss as his hand slides back under the blanket, not stopping until the first spit-soaked digit is prodding against Sergio’s opening and Sergio has to break the kiss to suck in air, a low moan tearing from his throat when the pad of Gerard’s index finally breaches him, pushing into him so slowly there are stars flickering behind his eyelids and he has to bite his lip hard to keep from begging for more.

“Oh come on,” he complains brokenly. “Don’t be such a tease,” but Gerard only grins at him, continuing with the slow torture like Sergio never said anything, reducing him to a panting and writhing mess with just a few flicks of his wrist.

“God you’re fun to play with,” Gerard breathes huskily when he finally bottoms out, his finger buried knuckles deep inside Sergio now and there’s nothing of the usual playfulness left in his voice. It’s dark and raw and hungry and it’s sending violent shivers down Sergio’s spine. 

Gerard crooks his finger to the left and Sergio cries out. 

“You’re so damn responsive,” Gerard growls and Sergio is sure he felt him twitch, grow even harder against his own length. He squirms restlessly on top of Gerard, wanting, needing more, deeper, harder, just anything to chase away that fluttering feeling in his chest, but Gerard is fingering him so gingerly, thrusting into him so slowly, so carefully that he feels overwhelmed and overstimulated, dangerously delicate in Gerard’s large hands.

“You know i’m not breakable, right?” Sergio gasps helplessly, but Gerard only smiles, leans up to kiss him and then finally, finally he adds a second finger, not giving him any time to adjust before he starts scissoring him open. 

“Please,” Sergio whimpers and he’s not even sure what he’s begging for, just that the skillful torture of Gerard’s fingers feels so good he never wants him to stop. “Gerard,” he pleads and even through the haze of lust clouding his mind, he doesn’t miss the violent shiver wrecking through Gerard, how his eyelids flutter and his mouth parts wantonly.

He leans forward, his breath ghosting against Gerard’s ear. “Do you like it when i use your full name?” he whispers hotly, pulling the lobe of Gerard’s ear between his teeth, letting his tongue dart out to lick at it. 

Gerard shoves his fingers deeper into him, presses into his prostate unrelentingly. “Yes.”

Sergio chuckles low in his throat, the sound rumbling pleasantly in the warm cocoon of their blanket. He gives Gerard’s ear one last lick before he lets it slip from his teeth and props his arms on Gerard’s chest, looks at him from under his lashes. “Gerard,” he repeats, making his voice sound as deep and seductive as possible, just to see Gerard’s reaction. “Will you fuck me?” And God, it’s more than worth it just for the raw hunger flickering in Gerard’s eyes, for the way his fingers shove up even deeper into him.

But just as quickly, Gerard’s expression becomes guarded. “You sure that’s a good idea?” he asks, his fingers stilling inside Sergio, voice tinged with regret.

Sergio feels his stomach twist. “You can just say no if you don’t want to.”

“God no, that’s not it,” Gerard runs his free hand up Sergio’s back, presses down between his shoulderblades. “You have no idea how much i want to,” and then he’s kissing him again, pouring all his hunger and need into the eager slide of their tongues, not pulling away until they’re both completely breathless. “It’s just … we don’t have condoms or lube.”

Sergio nibbles on Gerard’s bottom lip. “Do it anyway.”

“You know i’m not particularly small,” Gerard smiles against Sergio’s mouth.

“How very modest of you,” Sergio grins, grinding down against Gerard and God it feels like they’ve been hard for hours.

“Stop it,” Gerard gasps. “You know i’m right,” he holds down Sergio’s hips to keep him from moving, fingers still nestled inside of him. “And with how tight you are… it’s not gonna be pleasurable.”

“Don’t care,” Sergio groans. He looks up into Gerard’s blue eyes, feels himself drowning. “Please, just..,” he begs and because he doesn’t seem to have a filter anymore, with Gerard looking at him like this, he’s helpless to stop the next words from tumbling from his lips, even if it feels like he’s laying his entire soul bare. “I just need you to make the pain go away,” he pleads and it takes ever ounce of his willpower not to avert his eyes, to hold Gerard’s gaze.

There’s something mirthful glistening in Gerard’s eyes, just for a few moments and Sergio knows the quip that’s sitting at the tip of his tongue, knows because he’d think the same, say the same, but Gerard never does, the sparkle shifting into something more intense, more affectionate. “Ok,” he says simply and there are so many emotions hidden beneath the surface, so many layers to it, that Sergio feels himself tremble with need.

“Don’t mess up your ankle even more,” Gerard warns softly, pulling his fingers out of him and his voice sounds just the right kind of wrong when he shifts Sergio on top of him.

“I won’t,” Sergio reassures, biting his cheek at the sudden pain rushing through his foot when he sits back on Gerard’s thighs. He spits into his hand and takes a hold of Gerard’s length, coating him with shaky fingers. 

The blanket slides off his shoulders as he positions himself on Gerard’s tip, just prodding at himself for a while until he can finally feel himself give, Gerard sliding past the first ring of muscles with more ease than expected. He gasps raggedly and he already feels so full, stretched so deliciously, he has to force himself to go slow and not shove down to the hilt. 

“Careful,” Gerard’s fingers are shaky as his hands grasp his waist, nails digging into his skin and holding him in place. “Let me do it,” he pleads, his voice oddly strangled and breathless and Sergio can only gasp helplessly and give control over to Gerard, going absolutely pliant in his strong hands as Gerard begins to move him up and down his dick, sliding him down his length so slowly, so gingerly, he feels pleasure prickle across every inch of his skin.

It feels like an eternity when he finally bottoms out, his breath stuttering out of him in a satisfied grunt when he feels Gerard fill him up completely.

“Fuck,” Gerard croaks. “Don’t move.”

Sergio smirks, barely resisting the urge to wiggly his hips, busies himself with Gerard’s t-shirt instead. “Take this off,” he pouts, tugging on the thin fabric until Gerard finally takes pity on him and lifts up enough for him to pull it over his head. He carelessly throws it on the floor, too busy dragging his gaze over the broad expanse of Gerard’s chest, his mouth watering at all that pale skin laid out in front of him and he’s suddenly dying to feel him even closer. He hurries to take off his hoodie, but his fingers have barely grazed the hem when Gerard grasps his wrist tightly. “Don’t,” he grits out. “Leave it on,” his voice nothing but a growl and there’s a possessive glint in his eyes that has Sergio shudder with arousal, has him clenching hungrily around Gerard’s length.

“God i need to move,” Sergio moans, writhing helplessly. “Please let me move.”

“Ok,” Gerard nods and it’s almost like Sergio can feel him throb inside of him when he gently begins to roll his hips, needing to get used to Gerard’s size and it still burns a little, still feels a little too oversensitive, but he feels himself loosen up with every slow thrust, can already feel the pleasure sizzle at the base of his spine.

“You feel so good,” Gerard’s voice is soft and reverent and Sergio’s movements falter when Gerard leans forward and pulls the blanket back up, drapes it carefully across his shoulders before he swipes a strand of hair off Sergio’s forehead, gently tucks it behind his ear and the look in his eyes is so open, so affectionate it steals Sergio’s breath away.

He lets himself fall forward and buries his face against Gerard’s neck, because he’s feeling entirely too much and Gerard is seeing too much and with the blanket effectively hiding them away from the rest of the world it all feels treacherously intimate.

“Turn us over,” he begs helplessly, suddenly desperate for more, to feel Gerard deeper, their languid movements not nearly enough anymore. “Please,” and God he’s so tired of keeping things bottled up, of hiding them from Gerard. “I need to feel you on top of me.”

“Sergio..,” Gerard groans and Sergio has never liked the sound of his name more than in this very moment, spilling from Gerard’s lips so brokenly, so full of longing it has his heart tripping erratically in his chest. 

He gasps when Gerard flips them over in one quick move and it feels so ridiculously good to finally be buried underneath Gerard’s heavy frame, to feel his weight settle in top of him just right. He arches his hips up, desperate for Gerard to speed up his thrusts, but he only continues with the torturously slow pace from before, barely pulling out before he pushes back in and Sergio almost wails in frustration.

“Harder,” he groans and it’s too much and not nearly enough at the same time and he wants, _needs_ \- just anything, so he doesn’t get addicted to whatever this is between them, to the languid roll of their hips and the dark blue of Gerard’s eyes, to the soft curl of Gerard’s mouth as he pushes into him. 

“No,” Gerard smiles. “It’s perfect like this.” He shifts a little to the left, finally brushing Sergio’s sweet spot and making him see stars. 

Sergio bucks up with a low moan, his dick keeps rubbing against Gerard’s stomach on every shallow thrust and he already feels embarrassingly close to the edge. He tilts his head to the side, offering the slope of his neck to Gerard’s hungry lips and he almost comes right then and there when Gerard understands without words, leaning down to suckle on his soft skin, the rough scratch of his beard sending delicious tingles all the way down to Sergio’s toes.

“Don’t leave a mark,” he protests weakly, but God a part of him wants just that, wants something that will remind him of this, even days later something that won’t let him forget just how good Gerard feels inside him, the push and pull of his dick nothing short of perfection. 

“I won’t,” Gerard pulls away with one last lick of his tongue and Sergio feels regret wash through him, feels the loss of Gerard’s soft lips so deeply it aches, feels it reverberate in the longing look in Gerard’s heavy-lidded eyes. But then Gerard’s warm lips are on his again, sure and insistent, his tongue pushing into his mouth like he’s dying for a taste of him.

Sergio barely makes a sound when he comes. His vision flickers and his toes curl as he spills all over Gerard’s sweat slicked skin, his mouth going slack against Gerard’s as his orgasm washes through him and he can’t fathom closing his eyes, can’t bear to look away from the sparkle in Gerard’s eyes for even a second, the intensity in them making him feel frayed at the edges and like he’s floating at the same time and when Gerard finally follows him into oblivion he can feel it down to his very core, the slight tremble of his bottom lip against his own, the sharp intake of breath, every muscle in his body tensing as Sergio feels warmth spread inside of him.

For the longest time afterwards they just look at each other, eyes wide and lips still touching.

“God, you look pretty when you come,” Gerard drags his thumb along the corner of Sergio’s mouth, smiling when he feels Sergio shiver underneath him.

Sergio trails his fingers up and down Gerard’s arms, can’t get enough of how soft his skin feels underneath his fingertips. “Don’t be an idiot,” he whispers softly, his voice lazy and a little slurred and he hasn’t felt this thoroughly sated in a long time.

“Can’t you take a compliment like a normal person?” Gerard chuckles. 

“From you? Never,” Sergio’s hands involuntarily tightening on Gerard when he moves to roll off of him. “Don’t pull out,” he asks shyly, not ready yet to let go of the intimate contact between them.

“Okay,” Gerard relents and rolls back on top of him, threading his fingers into Sergio’s hair.

Sergio sighs happily. “You know i could get used to this,” he admits, kissing along the line of Gerard’s jaw.

“What?” Gerard grins mischievously. “Getting lost on the woods?”

“No,” Sergio laughs and pinches Gerard’s side. “Having you inside of me,” he licks his lips suggestively, and maybe, he thinks, it should be more awkward between them now that they’ve slept with each other, but then again nothing about their relationship has ever been particularly normal and no one has ever managed to get as much under his skin as Gerard.

Gerard groans and Sergio can feel his dick twitch inside of him, his own perking up in renewed interest and he’s just about to lean up to steal another kiss when the door suddenly bangs open, a rush of cold air sweeping into the cabin.

“Guys, i’ve found …..”

Sergio’s head snaps up at the unexpected shout and he has to bite back a laugh when he spots Jordi standing in the half opened door, eyes comically wide and mouth gaping open in shock. 

“What…?” Jordi asks, but it doesn’t take long for the bewildered look on his face to turn into one of amusement. “Oh, fucking finally,” he smirks, realization finally dawning on him. “About time you guys did something about that ridiculous tension between you two.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Sergio grins, figures there’s really no use denying anything, especially not with the position they’re still in.

“Yeah, whatever,” Jordi waves him off with a laugh, his gaze taking in the clothes scattered all over the floor. “I’m glad you’re alright and all, but you should probably get dressed if you don’t wanna traumatize the rest of the guys.”

Sergio can still hear him snickering in the distance even after the door has fallen shut behind him. “You know the whole team is gonna know within the next five minutes, right?” Sergio lets his head sink into the pillows with a groan.

“I don’t care,” Gerard shrugs, his arms tightening around Sergio. “Do you?”

Sergio looks up into Gerard’s warm blue eyes, waits for that usual sense of uncertainty, of dread to settle in the pit of his stomach, but it never comes, only warmth and affection spreading in his chest.

“No.”

**Author's Note:**

> I live for Kudos and Comments! Don't be shy, i usually don't bite :)


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